Computer eye strain & light sensitivity hacks

Sedentary work may cause Insomnia, Tired eyes & Photophobia; How to exercise at your computer desk, be more productive and feel better

Updated: October, 2018

Do you regularly feel exhausted but can’t sleep? Tired eyes? Maybe you’ve noticed increased glare and light sensitivity? You probably have a screen based job. Moreover, after work you feel so tired you can’t but relax: read, watch TV, play video games, shop online, etc. But in doing so you rest your rested body (at work you mostly sit) and exhaust even more your alreadytired eyes (they’d been working very hard all day)!? Wouldn’t it be nice to be more productive at work and simultaneously more rested and upbeat during and afterward your workday? It can be done! Fight the effects of sedentary lifestyle and sedentary work with computer work in motion.

This post suggests that eye fatigue and photophobia should be added to the list of health risks associated with sedentary lifestyle – the sum of overall sitting time (screen based work, TV viewing, sitting in cars, …).

More importantly, the post proposes several ways you can set up your computer workstation to be physically active while you work.

I am really excited to share my experience about overcoming sedentary behavior because it might also improve your sleep, eye fatigue, photophobia, general health and mood, … and even work effectiveness!

I’ve been doing computer work in motion (moving/exercising at my computer desk) for over six months with great results. Best of all the positive effect it’s had on my after work activities, particularly the time I spend with my family. (And it’s been possible at a reasonable cost and with no extra burden on my time).

You should also know that non-sedentary lifestyle is not the cure against sleep disorders, tired eyes, and light sensitivity. Each of these may be caused by many different factors that are beyond the scope of this post but should be considered. (Another cause that has been addressed here on GLARminY is exposure to blue light).

are more likely to achieve weight maintenance, have a healthier body mass and composition.”

“Adults aged 18–64 should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week”.

Prof. Dr. Levine from Mayo Clinic (who’s been fighting the epidemic of sedentary lifestyle) argues that while it is good to go to the gym regularly, that by itself cannot offset the harm of sitting still most of the day. See his video (14 min) about sitting disease – why, how and to what extent to wage a war with your office chair (on wheels).

Moderate aerobic exercise such as walking is sufficient to produce desired results. Its effects are similar to those of other non-pharmacological treatments such as paradoxical intention therapy, phototherapy and sleep hygiene, progressive relaxation, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Moreover, moderate aerobic exercise improves mood and quality-of-life [Effects of moderate aerobic exercise training on chronic primary insomnia (2011)].

Encouraged by their answers I set up a poll and asked GLARminY visitors the following question: If you suffer from COMPUTER EYE STRAIN: Do QUALITY & QUANTITY OF YOUR SLEEP AFFECT IT?Here are the results:

Therefore, if you improve your computer eye strain you’ll also likely improve your dry eyes. Subsequently you might also improve your insomnia and light sensitivity. As shown above many of us benefit from non-sedentarly lifestyle in terms of insomnia and computer eye strain, so why not also photophobia? Particularly when they are all associated through dry eyes!

I’ve learned to appreciate dry eyes as the earliest sign of eye abuse (I tend to detect it first when I wake up in the middle of the night). Catching early the signs of dry eye deterioration is very important. It enables me to analyze its possible causes (what I’d been doing differently in the day(s) leading to its occurrence).

the sandy dry eye sensation slowly extends to the whole day (first I only feel it when I wake up at night and in the morning, then in notice it just before going to bed, then earlier in the evenings, afternoons, and eventually throughout the whole day).

With some delay my eyes become more glare and light sensitive.

Eventually chronic insomnia develops.

Then one day a burnout-like chronic fatigue hits me very hard. I am too tired for any physical activity – even walking 5 minutes presents a problem. However, at night I can’t sleep. It is a vicious cycle which is very hard to break.

To conclude: based on the above mentioned research, responses from GLARminY readers and my personal experience it appears reasonable to hypothesize a high likelihood of non-sedentary lifestyle having similar positive effects on you: it will improve your computer vision syndrome, light sensitivity, and/or insomnia (among many other health issues).

Disclosure: You can help sustain GLARminY – at no additional cost to you by “donating” a small percentage of anything you buy from Amazon by accessing Amazon here (commission link). Also, you may help by using the commission links below to make your purchases. Thanks a lot!

Non-sedentary lifestyle

Your battle with the office chair (on wheels)

According to Dr. Levine (see video) the worst enemy of active lifestyle is your office chair on wheels and of course the nature of computer work. It is terrible – you almost never have to get up to walk and move! However, data shows that office workers need to get out of their chair and move around at least for two and a quarter hours per day more than they do now.

Below you’ll find several possible solutions to sedentary work. See which one might suit your circumstances. My favorite is described at the end.

No standing desk

This is the overarching principle recommended by Dr. Levine: never sit for a full hour without getting up!

So get up and walk around whenever you get a chance:

for example whenever you talk on the phone

go to the bathroom more often (perhaps not to the closest one)

deliver your work personally rather than sending an e-mail, etc.

Remember, that increased productivity is one of the effects of active lifestyle – so don’t worry about a few minutes of computer time lost to walking around every hour – your employer will also benefit from it.

You can also make your own standing desk – see DIY ideas in the images below (click here for more).

Aside from its cost, the best part of a DIY standing desk might be that returning to a sitting height might imply an important “set-up cost”. This could be important if you think your willpower is not strong enough to keep you up when your body starts asking you to sit down.

Remember, having worked sitting for most of your life you are in a much better sitting than standing shape. But that is soon to change as your legs and feet get used to standing and moving. So expect some hardship and make sure you get over it when it comes.

Now you are up and free to really move

Getting up from your chair is the most difficult step. You’ll find yourself walking around more, because standing at your desk you don’t have to first get up to do it :).

Best news is that standing desk allows you to more a lot more. For that you’ll need a wobbly board, treadmill, or a stationary bike.

A Wobbly Board (commission link) will add extra motion while you stand at your desk (it makes you keep balance as you would when surfing or snowboarding).

I am using a wobbly board. It is really great. It makes standing easier as it allows me to make some movements – or quite a lot if I want to. The best thing about it is its simplicity. It doesn’t take up much space, it is not very likely to break and it is relatively cheap.

Desk treadmill (commission link) is perhaps the most popular option of all. Admittedly I’ve never tried it. What most users recommend is to walk at a relatively slow and steady pace, about 1 mph (~1,5 km/h), so you don’t have to think about it and there is not too much disturbing up-down movement. (See this and this video of users’ first impressions – keep in mind that it does take some getting used to).

My favorite is stationary bike (commission link)! Yes, I am still sitting, but you should see me move when I want to (usually I pedal lightly most of my work day and go quite hard (sweating) for one to two hours out of my work day). Thus I take care of both moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.

On a bike there is no up-down movement which is inherent in walking and appears to cause difficulties with reading in some users (see videos in previous section).

Besides, I tend to alternate between stationary bike and wobbly board. I find this combination great – I sit and I stand, I can go really hard or just balance on the wobbly board with minimal effort. But I am always moving. And none of it interferes with my computer work … OK, when I cycle very hard, I have to wipe the sweat off my face from time to time :).

The best of all – I feel fresh after work and doing whatever I have to or want to do afterwards is much more fun and fulfilling! Try it!

Very important: make sure the seat is comfortable! You’ll have all your upper body weight on it most of the day, so no fancy, tinny racing seats! In my initial excitement I made the mistake of getting one – Ouch! That hurt!

2 thoughts on “Sedentary work may cause Insomnia, Tired eyes & Photophobia; How to exercise at your computer desk, be more productive and feel better”

I choose OUTDOOR exercise as often as possible because it makes the eyes use DISTANCE rather than close-up vision, giving relief to long days spent at the computer. You often come across the rule, “Every 20 minutes take a 20-second break and look 20 feet away.” That’s because looking into the distance rests your eyes.

Also, there is a hidden health risk in any chair or other apparatus (ball etc.) that puts you in a very upright position for hours at a time. The hip flexor muscles run from the front of the thigh to connect to the lowest vertebrae in the back. When you sit for too long, these muscles contract and shorten. When you try to stand up they stay in this contracted state, pulling on the lower back and creating back pain. Over time this tightness can become chronic and you might even find that you can’t stand up straight—ever! After experiencing this condition I now work in a position that is angled back as far as possible. Yet another reason to get up every hour, move around, and get outside. Here’s a good article on the hip flexors: https://lowbackpainprogram.com/tight-hip-flexors-and-back-pain/